Out on $1 million bond, Allen Strickland running from cops

One week after posting a $1 million bond with electronic GPS monitoring, Allen Strickland cut his electronic bracelet and left it at a Vasco convenience store in Tabor City, authorities said.

By Kevin Maurer & Shelby SebensKevin.Maurer@StarNewsOnline.com

Allen Strickland is on the run.One week after posting a $1 million bond with electronic GPS monitoring, Strickland cut his electronic bracelet and left it at a Vasco convenience store in Tabor City, authorities said.Tabor City police and Columbus County sheriff's deputies are searching for him, Tabor City Police Chief Donald Dowless said Thursday night.District Court Judge Scott Ussery last week upped Strickland's bond despite a tearful plea by former state Sen. R.C. Soles to keep the teenager out of jail. The electronic monitoring prohibited Strickland from going near Soles' property, and he could not have contact with the former lawmaker.Strickland was arrested earlier this month after Soles called an officer's department-issued cell phone. Strickland, according to police, had pushed open the gate entrance on Soles' property, broken a window at his home and kicked out a tail light on his 2005 BMW.Strickland also violated a court order set in February that he have no contact with the former lawmaker.Though wanted by authorities, Strickland answered his cell phone Thursday night when contacted by the StarNews. He declined to comment.He had posted the $1 million bond by putting up a new BMW and a house for collateral, according to a source with knowledge of the bond. His BMW was stolen last weekend and vandalized causing thousands of dollars in damage.The decision to send Strickland back to jail on charges of vandalizing Soles' property came after Assistant District Attorney Fred Gore laid out a pattern of criminal behavior spurred by the relationship between the 77-year-old lawyer and the 19-year-old, unemployed teen.The cycle of violence mirrors findings of a StarNews investigation published in June. Several men have made allegations of sexual assaults and a pattern of suspicious payments to teenage boys and young men.Soles denied the allegations after the hearing last week. He has never been charged with any crimes related to the accusations, and some accusers have at times given contradictory accounts and attempted to extort money from him.Soles told the court last week he had talked with Strickland with the state's permission. He said Strickland wanted to turn his life around and "do good in the future."